How Much Does SEO Cost for Small (or Large) Business?

7 min read
Whether you are in a large or small business; engaging with an SEO provider can come with it's share of uncertainty, as well as a minefield of SEO myths to navigate.

This continues in part because the industry remains unregulated and also because of a significant knowledge gap - leading to the perception by many that SEO is a type of 'black magic' (when really, it isn't). Even Google has recently released a video about the topic in an attempt to help businesses choose an SEO provider and steer clear of the pitfalls. 

This article covers top level detail about SEO as well as aiming to answer the question 'how much does SEO cost?', for both small and large businesses.

Understanding What's Involved (the short version)

Unlike many things, SEO is an intangible product and few people understand it really well.
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Hence the dilemma.

A recent SEJ article mentions a survey in which 38% of small businesses believe investing less than $100 a month will net them major SEO results.
​Another 33% believe it's very likely that their businesses will rank on the first page of Google results.

To us, this is a clear (and somewhat alarming) illustration of the knowledge gap that exists.

The short explanation of what's involved:

In terms of SEO - everyone is climbing to the top of the same pile.

And, this 'pile' keeps changing as new competitors enter the ring and invest in their own SEO; at last check a new website goes live about every 1.6 seconds. To add to it, Google keeps refining their search algorithm  (read: 'changing their mind about how they rank websites') and shifting the goal posts.

SEO therefore, is NOT a 'set and forget' solution. It requires regular checks and constant vigilance to have any chance of keeping up, let alone making it to the top of the pile.

So...

• If you are paying an SEO provider $100 a month, what are you actually getting for that? (in hours)
• Are they doing any real work at all?

Furthermore, nobody knows 100% 'what needs to be done' for SEO; nobody knows Google's 'secret sauce' (don't listen to anyone who tries to convince you otherwise). Even though there are guidelines, the most you can ever do is to put your best foot forward and see how Google responds and ranks your site.

Most of SEO then is educated trial and error. It's not one-size-fits all, and it's never guaranteed to work.

Who's at the top of the pile?

So... How Much Does SEO Cost ?

A comprehensive industry survey by Moz and AYTM Market Research (albeit a little old now, from 2012) covered 490 respondents in 10 countries - USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, India - and had the following findings.

Most agencies will work and provide services and pricing either packaged/per-project usually based on deliverables, or a monthly retainer model usually based on hours:

• By-the-Project Pricing is Popular and Most Commonly $1,000-$7,500
  70.1% of respondents said they offer project-based pricing (the most common pricing system selected in the survey). 43% of consultancies were represented by the four price ranges: $1,001-$1,500, $1,501-$2,500, $2501-$5,000 and $5,001-$7,500. Obviously, there's a wide variety of prices here, not surprising given that the types of projects offered may be quite diverse.
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• Monthly Retainer Pricing Has the Widest Distribution
  While both hourly and by-the-project rates do have a wide range of pricing, monthly retainers are certainly the most distributed of the price questions asked in our survey. The two most common were $251-$500/month (13.8%) and $2,501-$5,000/month (11.3%).  

The thing to keep in mind for most agencies is that it all comes down to hours one way or another; pricing will based on hours, which is indicative of the amount of work being done.
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Client side, it's important to be clear on the scope of work and expectations (as per points above).

​Pricing model and deliverables aside, at very least the agency should be able to show 'we did this many hours, carried out X tasks with Y results' (and explain the reasons WHY they did those things).

(via AYTM's infographic: http://aytm.com/press/IG/SEO-cost_1.png)

How Cheap is Too Cheap?

With SEO more than some things it really is a case of getting what you pay for. Good SEO providers can deliver great long term results and achieve positive ROI for your business - small or large.

Armed with a thorough understanding of what's involved and realistic expectations based on your budget and competitors/industry, it's also fine to go searching for value for money. 

But how cheap is too cheap?

Keep in mind the points raised above. Ask questions. Check contracts and be clear on what work is being done.

Also, consider some of the risks of going 'too cheap':

• Use of Black hat techniques
  Questionable tactics to try and 'game' the search engines. These may even work for a while, but run the risk of your website being penalised or even blacklisted/removed from Google.
  
  
• Bad Content
  Content for the sake of content is a waste of time.
  Too much duplicate or spammy keyword-stuffed content may even negatively impact your website rankings.  Don't expect much if you are paying some freelancer $50 to write an article.
  
  
• ​Plateaus
  Working with an inexperienced agency may mean you inevitably hit their limit of expertise and notice that your performance plateaus at a point.
  ​This might not be an issue for some smaller businesses who just want to keep up, but for larger organisations, this could mean you'll need to start shopping around for another provider.

A good rule of thumb is that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

* ​This Forbes article discusses these points and goes into more detail.

Then, Is SEO the Wrong Tool for Some Businesses?

Yes,it certainly can be.

Factors such as complexity, longer time frame to see results/get ROI and uncertainty can mean that SEO is not the best (or ONLY) tool for all business cases.

Remember: SEO is not easy. You won't get anywhere for $100 a month. It takes time to work.

Other examples:

• If your business is just starting out or needs fast results, it might be best to focus first on Adwords or social media paid ads. 
• Consider a multi-pronged digital strategy - where SEO is one component complimented by other channels such as display ads or social media.

As always, bring it back to:

• Your business goals 
• Your campaign goals (i.e.: awareness or activation?)
• Time frame to see results / ROI
• Your budget
• The scope of what you are trying to achieve

Use the right tool for the job

Briefly... on Choosing an SEO Agency 

We thought this point was important to include. However, since there are many great articles online which cover this, we won't go into detail here.
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In short:

• Take care. There are a lot of people out there giving bad/the wrong SEO advice
• Stay away from anyone offering first page guarantees 
• Old tactics mostly don't work any more
• You get what you pay for (now more than ever)
• If it's too good to be true - it probably is
• Do your research - read case studies, check online reviews, other clients
• Consider getting advice from an impartial third party

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​Some of the best articles we've come across for 'How to Choose an SEO Agency':
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1. Moz  
   'How to Choose a Good SEO Company for Your Business or Website - Whiteboard Friday'
   
   
2. Google's own video 
   ​'How to Hire an SEO':

In Conclusion

SEO is not black magic, but it can be challenging and it takes time and effort to do properly.
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• ​On a monthly retainer model the two most common pricing tiers for SEO are $251-$500/month (13.8% of sample) and $2,501-$5,000/month (11.3% of sample).
• On a per-project basis - prices can range from $1,000-$7,500.
• It's extremely unlikely that any real benefits will be realised for $100 a month, despite a number of businesses feeling that this is a reasonable price point.

The Upside

If it's done well, the rewards and ROI from SEO can be great - but it's important to be aware of what's involved, choose an SEO/agency partner wisely and be clear and realistic with expectations.

Keep in Mind...

​Due to the longer time frame, complexity and uncertainty, SEO may not be the best solution for all businesses.
​In almost all cases, it's worth considering SEO as one part of a holistic digital marketing strategy which may include other channels such as paid ads.
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We'd love to hear your comments and any personal experiences.